I've read through the thread mostly, maybe 2/3rds through or so. I have some thoughts.
I consider myself in the center, but I hold a hybrid of conservative and liberal beliefs on very specific issues. Overall, I'm socially liberal but fiscally conservative, but even that doesn't perfectly describe me. Nonetheless...
I think it's unfair to paint Trump supporters as all idiots or all racists, but he is definitely pandering to stupid people and racist people in his campaign with his communication with the public (tweets, statements at rallies, etc.). Because of this, it's understandable why liberals will associate him with racism and populism. Regardless of what his supporters will say, at the end of the day Trump must be accountable for any message he puts out for public consumption because this is a campaign for the president of the highest office of our country, a country which solicits votes from the very same public that these tweets/statements/excerpts are purposefully made available to. Remember, Trump is asking for our vote to make him the most powerful person in the free world; that job carries serious responsibilities.
Having said that, the media carries a liberal bias in my honest opinion. I know many liberals dismiss this as nothing more than conservative whining, but I think this bias is true regardless. It is likely due to the profession of journalism and the type of personality that such a career attracts, more so than any major agenda at work. And this media has tried repeatedly to cover Trump's most outlandish statements/facial expressions/etc. and paint him as a crazy Hitler figure, which is misleading even if you can give examples of similarities between the two.
Trump's a lifelong real-estate broker, not to mention he's in his 70's. If he was truly as racist and misogynistic as the headlines painted him to be, I would imagine he would have demonstrated those awful qualities long before now in a way that was meaningful. That's pretty irresponsible of the media to make such overt comparisons to Hitler, who killed thousands of people, but they do it for the same reason the media does almost anything: to get as many viewers/readers/mouseclicks as possible so they can drive up the price they charge to advertisers when they want to run an ad or a commercial. In other words: the media does it for money. For profit. Same as the Democratic and the Republican party. Same as churches. Same as businesses. Same as families.
If I can give Trump credit for anything, it's that -- for all the mistakes he has made on this campaign to alienate certain people -- he isn't apart of the Democratic-Republican oligarchy that has dominated mainstream politics and lead us to the path we are today. Assuming he's lucky enough to win the Presidency, I am almost of the opinion the country is better off electing him and impeaching him if he goes too crazy, rather than elect an establishment candidate like Hillary. At least it will create a change in a country that was once a democracy but is increasingly an oligarchy.